Sales Has Changed

It is time for you to face a difficult reality.  You can no longer get your product into the hands of your customer the old way.

It doesn’t matter if you sell cars, consulting services, medical devices or media time, the “show-up and throw-up” method is dead.

You’re familiar with that approach.  You cold call, force your way in, do a high-pressure pitch, and then fight like hell to overcome every objection imaginable.

This this a battle between you and your customer and you must beat him into submission.

That sucks.

And it doesn’t work anymore.

Why?

Three reasons:

Buyers Have More Information

The Internet has put a world of information at the fingertips of your customer. He can educate herself thoroughly on all aspects of your product before you ever enter her life. He knows the benefits and features of every product on the market and she has done a comparative analysis of each of them.  He knows your manufacturing cost. He probably even knows your expected profit margin.  He knows your inventory cycles inside and out and she knows the best time to buy.

This approach is used each day by customers purchasing cans of peas in the local market. It is also used by the corporate buyer of plumbing supplies in the big-box home improvement store.

There Are More Options

Regardless of the political rhetoric, globalization is here to stay.  This means intense competition from all corners of the globe for every product and service.  Manufacturing, technology, accounting, and even discretionary medical treatment, are available overseas.

While you try to push your way in the door to meet a new prospective client, there are dozens (if not hundreds) of competitors reaching out to him each day highlighting their low cost.

Clients Focus on Emotional Engagement

More options and more information mean the customer is educated and empowered and he has developed a new final criterion to make a buying decision.  It is subjective. It is intangible and it is powerful.

What is it? How he feels.

That’s right. The buyer wants to feel like he made the correct choice. He wants to feel like he made an educated decision. He wants an ongoing relationship with the person on the other side of the table. He wants to know you will help him if he needs more information or if he’s in trouble because of this purchase.

But it goes even deeper than that.

The buyer wants help improving his life and his career.  The adage, “Nobody gets fired for bringing McKinsey,” is no longer good enough. Bringing you into the company (and his life) must be a competitive advantage for the buyer.  You cannot just save his life; you must add value to it.

That is a difficult proposition.

Developing relationships is hard. Offering lifetime value in return for lifetime customer loyalty is intimidating.

That’s why most entrepreneurs, business leaders, and sales professionals, don’t embrace it. It’s easier to “show up and throw-up.”

Going out and developing new relationships is kind-of like…well, it’s exactly like, falling in love.  You must go out and focus on adding value to the lives of others and people will be naturally attracted to you.

You can’t kick in the front door of a neighborhood home and plant a big wet kiss on the person on the other side.

Sales has changed and the sooner you embrace that fact, the quicker you can get started developing relationships and making more money.